Unique Eats at Sister's African Cuisine

BUFFALO, N.Y. - The owner of Sister's African Cuisine on Hertel is the first to admit that Liberian food isn't the most delicious-looking out there.

But adventurous eaters who get past the looks will be well-rewarded with some flavors they've probably never experienced before.

Mahawa Chelley started Sister's African Cuisine earlier this year with the goal of serving up her home dishes and sharing them with others- especially international students at the local colleges and universities who are used to the cuisine.

"Liberian food is really spicy, and there's a lot of traditional food," Chelley says. "Traditionally in Africa, we don't throw a lot of things away. So whatever we have, we put in a stew. It's almost like a garbage bag of stuff just mixed up."

The menu includes a lot of those soups and stews, including cassava leaf mixed with a variety of meats and egusi soup (with chicken and co

w feet, crab, and goat meat). The stews take a little work because much of the meat still has the bones in- but again, you're getting flavors you've never tried before. Unique Eats was also a big fan of the fried fish (served looking like it was just pulled out of the lake) with attieke, a couscous-like grain.

"African food doesn't always look good," says Chelley. "But it tastes good, that's all I can tell people. You have to try it. Don't always think, 'Oh, I've never ate that before!' It's a new experience, try it out, see how it goes. If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it anymore, you know what I mean? It's always good to try something new."

Check out Sister's African Cuisine at its Facebook page here and let us know where to go next on Facebook and in the comments section.